Early voting answers: Where and when in Beaufort County’s off-year elections

Sebastian Lee
·2 min read

With November’s election now less than a month away, here’s how to beat the lines and vote before Nov. 7’s election day.

Beaufort County will have a busy off-year election season. On Nov. 7th, two municipalities will hold elections for mayor and two open town council seats. Both Bluffton and Port Royal have two candidates for mayor, but only Bluffton has races for open town council seats. Four people are running for two seats.

Also on the ballot will be school board seats, a $439 million school board bond referendum and multiple bond measures for Fripp Island residents totaling $5.2 million.

The county will hold one week of early voting, held two weeks before the election. Voting starts Monday, Oct. 23 and ends Friday, Nov. 3. You no longer need to have a reason to vote early.

Each day early voters will have from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to cast their votes.

Beaufort County will have four early voting locations:

  • Board of Voter Registration and Elections of Beaufort County main office -- 15 John Galt Road, Beaufort, SC 29906

  • Bluffton Recreation Center gym -- 61A Ulmer Road, Bluffton, SC 29910

  • Hilton Head Island Government Center -- 539 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926

  • Saint Helena Island Library -- 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr Road, Saint Helena Island, SC 29920

In order to vote, voters must bring a valid photo ID. Forms of identification accepted include: a driver’s license, a S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles ID, a S.C. Voter Registration Card with Photo, a Federal Military ID or a U.S. Passport

In order to vote by mail or absentee, voters must request a ballot before Nov. 27th. To submit the request, call visit or send a request to the Board of Voter Registration and Elections main office, the Galt Road address is located higher in this story.

Ballots must also be submitted before the 27th.

In December, a special election will be held for the Mayor of Beaufort, after the previous mayor, Stephen Murray, resigned in September. Early voting for the special election will start on Nov. 27 and end on Dec. 8.

Requesting a mail-in ballot for this election can be done now through Dec. 1 . .